Capitol Notebook: Judge yet to rule on lawsuit that tops week

In a constitutional soap opera, the executive branch of state government asked the judicial branch to force the legislative branch to obey the governor.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich sued House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, asking a Sangamon County judge to require Madigan to follow the date and time the governor specifies when he calls a special session of the General Assembly. Blagojevich has called 16 so far during this summer's budget stalemate, but before the last two -- scheduled for a weekend -- Madigan told House members: "We've sent the governor a 12-month budget. We've done our job. My advice to all members would be, 'Don't come to Springfield.'"

Some observers have contended the governor has used his authority to call special sessions to punish legislators who don't share his priorities, ordering them to convene on weekends with little business to enact. The administration has denied that.
In the lawsuit, Blagojevich wants the judge to proclaim that the speaker "is without the constitutional or statutory authority to excuse a sufficient number of members of the House such that it is impossible for the House to convene as a legislative body capable of conducting business."
So far, Judge Leo Zappa hasn't ruled on the matter.

Head Scratcher:

Blagojevich often is criticized for paying more attention to Chicago than to the rest of the state. He and his family, for instance, have opted to keep living in Chicago, rather than in the Executive Mansion in Springfield.

So perhaps it's worth noting the curious timing of his action on the $1 billion electric rate relief legislation that reached his desk July 31. Blagojevich finally signed Senate Bill 1592 into law on Tuesday -- eight days before a key provision pertaining to Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison would have expired.

The key provision relates to a part of the rate relief deal involving long-term contracts aimed at keeping future electricity costs as low as possible for consumers. One of the five-year contracts to buy power at locked-in prices is between the Ameren Illinois utilities and Ameren Energy Marketing, and the other is between Commonwealth Edison and Exelon. Because it took the governor nearly four weeks to decide to sign the legislation, the Ameren contract already expired and was renegotiated at least twice. But the ComEd/Exelon pact had a different expiration date: Sept. 5.

Quotes of Note:

"Just to give you a sense of the kinds of things I vetoed, I don't believe that taxpayer monies for salsa festivals are more important than providing health care to a child." -- Blagojevich, speaking in southern Illinois after he signed the electric rate relief plan into law. He had been asked about cuts he made to the new state budget. His "salsa" comment apparently was a reference to $40,000 that had been appropriated for a grant to the Chicago International Salsa Congress for community programs.

"Salvador Dali couldn't have done any better than this whole morass.'' - Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, comparing the effect of some of Blagojevich's budget cuts to the works of the surrealist painter.

Number to Know: $116,987,100. That's the amount, according to the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, that the governor cut from health care programs in the state budget to make room for his own plan to expand health care for the needy.

Coming Up:

The House will meet Tuesday to take up a bill bailing out mass transit systems, including those in the metropolitan Chicago area.